India's misery continued with a defeat to South Africa and the defending champions will head home early to lick their wounds. Once again it was the batting that let them down after the bowlers especially the spinners had done a splendid job in restricting the Proteas to 130.
Dhoni used his slow bowlers cleverly and they had the South African batsmen in a spin after the early order had given them a good start. India too got off to a brisk start but then began the senseless shot selection that meant that suddenly instead of winning the game with a few overs to spare the team was staring at defeat which left Indian supporters wondering what went wrong. Many reasons will no doubt be attributed to the defeats but the ones to look at closely are attitude and application.
If only they had learned from the common sense approach of Sarawan and Chanderpaul against England the previous day, then India would at least have had one win in the Super 8 stage.
The South Africans now meet Pakistan in the first semifinals at Trent Bridge and if they have seen how the pitch behaved the Pakistanis will look to strengthen their attack with spinners. They already have Afridi and Ajmal and Shoaib Malik to ply spin and in Umar Gul and Mohammad Amir they have a formidable new ball attack too. Abdul Razzaq adds more to the team with both bat and ball so Pakistan are lucky to have him back in the fold.
They will be playing against a team that has looked complete in all respects of the game with their fielding being absolutely world class and save heaps of runs for their team. With Kallis back on the team after being rested for the India game the South Africans have an all-rounder of the highest quality. Their discipline on the field is fantastic and their determination to win a world trophy is enormous. They are the No. 1 team in limited-overs cricket but have no trophy to show for that and the ICC World Twenty20 would be the ideal one to fill the gap. Since a lot of their cricket is planned down to the last detail, a team with flair can upset the best laid plans and while there is no doubt that they will have planned and strategized about every Pakistan player, an Afridi or a Razzaq onslaught can derail them. They have struggled in the knockout stages of tournaments in the past with self doubts and this game will give them the chance to show that their success in the last year or so is well deserved.
— Professional Management Group
